Roasted Asparagus & Red Bell Pepper

 Credit goes to Chef Robert Lewis at happydiabetic.com

Roasted asparagus in the oven is one of the easiest ways to prepare asparagus. Just coat them with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and maybe a little minced garlic, and roast them until lightly browned and tender.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of asparagus
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic -chopped
• 2-3 tbsp thin red bell pepper slivers
• salt & pepper to taste
• lemon juice for drizzle

Preparation:

First, wash the asparagus in cold water and trim away the lower 1/4 of the stalk. Toss the asparagus in a large bowl with 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp chopped garlic. Add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to your tasting. 

Roast at 425°F on a foil-covered baking sheet until stalks are soft and the skin is slightly crispy. Turn the stalks at 10 minutes of roasting time, add the bell pepper and roast another 8-10 minutes.

Cutting thin strips of bell pepper to roast on top of the asparagus will offer a feast of flavor for your pallet and a feast of color for your eyes! Top your cooked asparagus with a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice. Serve with something like my Garlic Butter Baked Cod.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Lemon Cream Cheese Halibut

I deviated from my normal fish coatings just a tad and decided to try using cream cheese instead of my usual mayo or yogurt as a base. It turned out to be a really nice flavor that beckons for dinner on the deck watching a beautiful sunset. I paired the halibut with some Brussels Sprouts Almondine. It was a well matched side, and you can find that recipe by clicking here.

Ingredients:

• 2 6oz halibut filets
• 1 1/2 cups plain Panko
• 3 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• olive oil cooking spray

Preparation:

Mix cream cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt & pepper

in a dredging dish. I find a dinner fork works well for this.

Coat filets with the mix, press into Panko and then place in foil lined, sprayed baking tray.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.

Serve with a green vegetable of your choice or use the aforementioned Brussels sprouts.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Pollock Tacos

Tacos, anyone? Use these ingredients or feel free to experiment on your own.

Tacos... just like hot dogs... are verrrrrrry personal!!! :-) LOL

Fish:

• 24 oz pollock bites - Wild Alaskan Company has the best, but any white fish cubed to bite size is good, too
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1tbsp salted butter

Mix dry seasonings in small bowl and set aside. Place thawed, cubed fish in a roomy bowl and toss with seasonings. Cover and place in fridge while you prep everything else to allow seasonings to soak into fish. When everything is ready, quickly fry in the oil and butter and serve immediately.

Garlic Lime Crema:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (1 lime)
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 -1/2 tsp sriracha sauce depending on heat preference

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl and return to fridge.

Toppings:

• Soft taco shells… go small to play with different toppings
• 1/4 head red cabbage, shaved on mandolin
• 1 yellow onion, shaved on mandolin
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• Lots of fresh cilantro destemmed
• 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges for that personal splash after assembly

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Tuscan Panzanella Salad

 Credit for this lovely salad goes to Maricruz Avalos at M.A. Kitchen

This panzanella salad is the ultimate Italian summer meal. Loaded with juicy tomatoes, crunchy onions and cucumbers, this bread salad gets its wonderful flavors from simple, high-quality ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz stale crusty artisan bread - cut into cubes
• 1 lb cherry tomatoes - cut into quarters or halves
• 1 medium red onion - quartered and sliced thin
• 1 English cucumber - peeled, halved and sliced
• 1 bunch basil leaves - hand shredded
• extra virgin olive oil
• red wine vinegar - as needed
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Mix two parts of water and one part of vinegar enough to soak bread in a large bowl. Add bread into the bowl with vinegar mixture and immerse it well so it can soak while you’re preparing the veggies.

Once you have all vegetables cut and ready in a large bowl, squeeze the bread to remove excess of moisture, and then crumble it into the bowl with veggies.

Season with salt and pepper, then add a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil and lots of hand-torn basil. Mix well to combine everything. Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes:

If you using fresh bread, I suggest to slicing it and leave it in the countertop covered with a kitchen towel overnight, so it will stale and be ready next day or you can pop it in the oven for a couple of minutes to dry it a bit.

Allow panzanella salad to rest overnight, the flavors will infuse bread resulting in a more flavored dish.

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

Spicy Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes & Feta Cheese

Credit for this dish goes to Carol Borchardt, owner of  From A Chef's Kitchen

Spicy Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta Cheese is an easy weeknight dinner or a great appetizer to share with friends.  Best of all, it bakes up in one dish for ultimate ease... Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 to 1 tsp crushed Aleppo pepper - start light and add if needed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 cloves garlic - chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley - plus more for garnish
• 1 pound large shrimp - (16-20 count) peeled, deveined and tails removed
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• crusty bread - for serving
• lemon wedges - for serving

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss together tomatoes, olive oil, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes and salt.

Roast 20-25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and bursting.

Add garlic, lemon juice, parsley, shrimp and stir together.

Top with feta cheese.

Bake another 12 to 13 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through and cheese is melted.

Garnish with additional chopped parsley.

Serve with crusty bread and more lemon wedges.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Mediterranean Shrimp and Scallops

 

Credit for this vibrant dish, with minor changes, goes to Mary at Oh, that's good!

This Healthy Mediterranean Shrimp and Scallops Recipe (for two) is a lightened-up version of a popular Mediterranean shrimp skillet. This easy shrimp recipe is a perfect choice for a busy weeknight dinner. With a little prep, this dish can be on the table in 35 minutes! Great for those following a Mediterranean diet or those who love Mediterranean foods and Mediterranean recipes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 8 medium/large shrimp - peeled and deveined - tails on 
• 4 large sea scallops - sliced in half horizontally
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼` teaspoon kosher salt - use less if table salt
• ¼ tsp granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil - divided
• 3 cloves garlic - thinly sliced
• ½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes - halved
• ¼ cup bottled clam juice, seafood stock or veggie broth
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 tbsp lemon juice - freshly squeezed
• 1.5 tbsp flat leaf Italian parsley - coarsely chopped - or sliced scallions
• 1 cup pearl barley - cooked in chicken stock for flavor

Preparation:

Get your barley started first as it will take 30-40 min to cook.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Slice the scallops in half horizontally and pat dry.

Combine paprika, kosher salt, sugar, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl and mix well. Place the shrimp and scallops in the bowl and fold gently until all the seafood is coated.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large sauté pan or non-stick skillet over medium heat being careful not to burn it. Add the sliced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Do not brown the garlic! Remove the cooked garlic and set aside to be added back later.

Add the shrimp and sear both sides over medium heat. Move the seared shrimp to one side of the pan to make room for the scallops.

Add the scallops in a single layer on the open side of the skillet, being careful not to crowd them. After turning them once, cook them for 30 seconds on the other side. As they get nicely seared, move them to the side with the shrimp. When all the seafood is seared, stir to mix.

Add the tomatoes, the remaining 2 tbsp of oil, the cooked garlic and the chopped parsley.

Mix the clam juice, wine, and lemon juice in a small bowl and add to the pan. Raise the temperature of the hot skillet to medium high heat. Simmer for one minute, then remove the shrimp and scallops to a plate and set aside to be added later.

Simmer the sauce until the tomatoes begin to shrivel and give up their liquid. Continue simmering until the liquid reduces and thickens a bit, about 3-5 minutes.

Return the shrimp and scallops to the pan. When the shrimp and scallops are opaque, remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle on some fresh parsley or scallions, and black pepper to taste.

Serve in shallow bowls, poured over pearl barley.

Weekend Ramble: The Right Way to Sauce Pasta

Thank you, SeriousEats, for a long overdue education!

Every now and then I come across someone who tells me to use pasta water in one way or another. For years I simply shrugged and said....."Yeah, okay."

Recently while roaming around my favorite recipe sites and groups it seemed like the "pasta water" phenomenon was surfacing more frequently. Not one to miss out on improving any given food, I decided to give it a try.

Now before any of my fellow diabetics start questioning my defense of the often maligned pasta in our diet, I urge you to remember that pasta actually has a glycemic index in the low range. What makes pasta a possibly bad choice for diabetics is the massive portion generally served in restaurants and homes alike. If you stick to a small portion and fill the rest of your plate with a sensible protein and a salad, pasta is a viable option in a D-friendly diet.

Now that we've established that a small portion of pasta with your favorite sauce is a viable choice, why not make the taste, the mouth feel and indeed the entire culinary experience the best it can be?! :-)

I found a lengthy and entertaining article on the subject written by J. Kenji López-Alt at SeriousEats, but for purposes of education here on my blog I'm just sharing the actual steps for properly saucing pasta.

The Right Way to Sauce Pasta

Pasta heated in a skillet or Dutch oven with sauce has a vastly different and superior flavor and texture compared with pasta that is simply sauced on the plate. Fact is, no matter how great a sauce you can make, if you don't sauce your pasta correctly, you're missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures. Conversely, even a so-so, store-bought, jarred marinara sauce can be improved upon by finishing it off right.

Here's how to properly sauce your pasta, step by step.

Step 1: Heat Your Sauce Separately

With few exceptions, pasta should be tossed with sauce that is already hot and ready. You don't want your cooked pasta to heat up in a cold pan of sauce, slowly absorbing more water and becoming mushy.

I use either a wide saucier - the sloped sides of a saucier make it easier to use for tossing pasta than a straight-sided saucepan - or a large skillet for my sauce.

Step 2: Cook Your Pasta al Dente (Really)

In a separate pot, bring a couple of quarts of salted water to a boil. Remember: You do not want your pasta water as salty as the sea. One to two percent salinity is what you should aim for, which translates to around 1 or 2 tablespoons of kosher salt per quart or liter. You also don't need a huge amount of water—just enough to be able to keep the pasta moving. With small shapes, like penne or fusilli, I use a saucepan or a saucier. With long, skinny shapes, like spaghetti or bucatini, I use a 12-inch skillet.

There was a time in this country when the default for pasta was cooked-to-mush. These days, it seems like we have the opposite problem: Folks are so scared to overcook pasta that most of the time, it's undercooked. Pasta should* be cooked al dente - "to the tooth” which means just until it's cooked through. If your pasta has a chalky or brittle core, it's undercooked. Let it go longer!

*Actually, so long as you don't mind being branded a heretic by people who probably have more important things to be worried about than how other people cook their pasta, it should be cooked however the heck you want it. Mushy, chalky, whatever floats your tortellini.

Your other option is to purposely undercook the pasta by a few minutes before adding it to the sauce to let it finish. Cooking pasta in the sauce instead of in boiling water will increase the amount of time it takes to cook through. It's a good technique to use if you want to delay serving your pasta for a few minutes. Make sure to keep the sauce thinned out with pasta water as the pasta finishes cooking if you use this method.

Finally, whatever you do, don't toss cooked pasta with oil - it makes it much more difficult to get sauce to cling to it down the line.

Step 3: Transfer Cooked Pasta to Sauce

There are a couple of ways to get your pasta from the pan to the sauce. The easiest is to grab a set of tongs for long, skinny pasta, or a metal spider to fish out short pasta shapes, and transfer them directly to the pan with the warm sauce. Alternatively, you can drain your pasta through a colander or fine-mesh strainer, making sure to save some of the pasta water.

Step 4: Add Pasta Water

Once the pasta is in the sauce, add pasta water. This is the most vital step in the process. Starchy pasta water doesn't just help thin the sauce to the right consistency; it also helps it cling to the pasta better and emulsify with the fat and cheese you're going to be adding. No matter what sauce you're making—whether it's a chunky marinara, a rich and hearty ragù Bolognese, or a simple carbonara - it should acquire a creamy texture that clings to the noodles.

I start by stirring in a couple of tablespoons of pasta water per serving of pasta and sauce. We'll add more down the road to adjust consistency.

Step 5: Add Fat

If you have a very low-fat sauce (like a tomato sauce, for instance), now is the time to add extra fat. A small amount of fat—extra-virgin olive oil or butter—is essential to good pasta sauce texture. Without fat, you have at best watery sauce (nobody has ever said, "Waiter, my pasta is not quite wet enough"), and at worst sauce that over-thickens with starch alone and takes on a pasty texture.

With extra fat, you can get an emulsion that leaves the sauce creamy, but still loose. Fat also brings flavor of its own, as well as helping fat-soluble flavor compounds in the sauce reach your tongue. I add a little glug of really good extra-virgin olive oil or a pat of butter (depending on my mood and the specific sauce).

Step 6: Cook Hard and Fast

Once everything is in the pan together—cooked pasta, hot sauce, pasta water, and extra fat—it's time to simmer it. Simmering not only reduces liquid (and thereby thickens the sauce), but also contributes to mechanical stirring, helping that starchy pasta water do its job of emulsifying the sauce with the fat and getting it to coat the pasta. The hotter your pan, the more vigorously the sauce will bubble, and the better the emulsion you'll form. I crank my burner up to maximum heat and cook, stirring and tossing the pasta constantly (to ensure that it doesn't stick to the bottom), adding more pasta water as necessary until it gets that perfectly saucy texture.

Finishing pasta, you'll notice, is a game of constant adjustments. Pasta water gets added throughout the process in order to adjust consistency. Don't be afraid of it!

Step 7: Stir in Cheese and Herbs off Heat

Once the pasta and sauce are where you want them, remove the pan from the heat and stir in any cheese or chopped herbs you may be using. With thicker, well-emulsified sauces, it's generally safe to add the cheese directly over the heat, but with a thinner sauce or one that doesn't have much besides the cheese, adding cheese while it's still on the burner can cause it to clump.

Step 8: Adjust Consistency

You thought you were done with that pasta water? Not quite yet! You're just about to serve the pasta, which means that now is your last chance to adjust texture. (And you'll probably need to: The cheese has thickened up the sauce a bit, the pasta has continued to absorb water from the sauce, and some of that water will have evaporated.) Once the cheese has been emulsified into the pan, it's safe to add more pasta water and reheat the sauce over a burner until everything is exactly as you want it.

Step 9: Garnish As Necessary

Transfer the cooked, sauced pasta to a warmed serving bowl or individual plates, then add the final garnishes, if you're using any. These can be anything from chopped fresh herbs to grated cheese to a big grind of black pepper. I like to drizzle on some fresh extra-virgin olive oil at this stage as well. Making sure that all of your serving plates are hot is key to great pasta texture: What looked perfect in the pan will seize up and turn overly thick if you dump it into a cold bowl.

Step 10: Serve Immediately

Pasta don't wait around for nobody. Once the pasta is in the sauce, there's a countdown timer that's automatically started and cannot be paused. Pasta will continue to cook and soften as it sits. The sauce will start to cool down and thicken.

The only solution is to serve it immediately and to eat it with gusto.** If you've done everything right, that shouldn't be a problem.

**That's Italian for "with enough speed to speckle one's tunic with splatters of sauce."

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Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R

Pollock Ceviche by Chef Michael R

Pollock is a somewhat odd textured and bland tasting white fish, but it's also a nutritious source of lean protein that is substantially more affordable than cod or halibut. Therefore, this tasty Ceviche recipe shows us how to improve on Pollock's texture and greatly enhance its flavor by cutting it into small pieces, “cooking” it with lip-smacking lime juice and combining it with crunchy and aromatic raw vegetables and herbs. And best of all it's naturally low in calories so you won't have to get your calculator out at the dining table!

Ingredients:

• 16-20 oz pollock, cut into ½” cubes (any other white fish will work equally well)
• 1/2 red onion, cut into 2 quarters and sliced thin using mandolin
• 1 cup diced cucumber
• 1 cup diced tomato, seeds removed or grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cup frozen corn, cooked, drained, cooled
• 1/2 cup diced sweet peppers, color of your choice
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper chopped fine. Start with ½ and add to taste.
• 1 cup fresh lime juice. (8+ limes) Choose light green for most juice

Preparation:

Salt the onions and let sit for 15 minutes to draw out bitter juice. Rinse well and squeeze dry.

In large mixing bowl combine fish, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, fresh jalapeno and lime juice. Mix gently until fully blended and fish is completely coated. Marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes. The longer you marinate the firmer and more “cooked” the fish will become.

Before serving, carefully fold in the cucumbers, tomatoes peppers, corn and cilantro and serve with Tostitos or other type white corn chip. If you have anyone who tastes soap when they eat cilantro, it works well as a garnish at the table as well.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Egg & Spinach Muffins

Credit for this adapted dish goes to the ADA's Diabetes Food Hub.

Breakfast for diabetics can be a challenge, so I'm always in search of new ideas. Eggs are my go-to for breakfast because they're a superfood, and this muffin version of a scramble just made me smile. It's a dish you can be creative with, adjusting the ingredients to make the final serve your own. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach - thawed and squeezed
• 1/2 cup scallion tops - cut into 1/4" rings
• 9 eggs
• 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray each cup of a muffin pan with one spray of non-stick cooking spray.

Add 1 heaping tablespoon of the thawed spinach to the bottom of each muffin cup in the muffin tin. Divide the scallions among the cups as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, salt and pepper. Evenly divide the egg mixture among the 12 muffin cups and give a gentle stir. Top each egg muffin with 1 teaspoon of parmesan cheese.

Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are slightly firm to touch. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Remove from the muffins from the pan and serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week, or freeze and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

To reheat from the refrigerator, place the muffin uncovered on a plate in the microwave for 30 seconds. To reheat from frozen, place the muffin uncovered on a plate in the microwave for 1 minute.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Soy Sauce Salmon & Bean Sprout Stir Fry - A Definite Favorite

These two recipes are featured separately elsewhere on the blog, but the dishes really belong together and the pairing is so good that I've added them to my signature collection of Chef's Favorites.

Part One:  Soy Sauce Salmon

Adapted from a recipe found on Cooking-Therapy.com

Ingredients:

• 12 oz salmon cut into 2 inch squares
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup avocado oil (or pure vegetable oil in a pinch)

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup white onion - minced
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 tsp agave syrup
• 4 tsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp lemon juice

Preparation:

Season the salmon with salt and pepper.

Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bow so it’s ready to go .

Heat 1/4 cup oil over high heat in a skillet sized to fit the fish.

Add the salmon and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Remove salmon from the heat and set aside - covered

Add sauce mix to the pan and cook sauce for 1-2 minutes to reduce. 

When your reduction turns just slightly creamy, return the salmon to the pan and coat with sauce. 

Cover and let sit for a minute so fish heats through.

Part Two: Bean Sprout Stir Fry

It took some time to research the many stir fry recipes and flavor combinations, but in the end I came up with something I can call my very own that compliments the salmon quite well.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz mung bean sprouts
• 2 stalks green onion (scallion)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper - minced
• 3 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp agave syrup
• 2-3 grinds from black pepper mill

Preparation:

Place bean sprouts in a colander and rinse/drain well. 

Chop the garlic, mince the red pepper and cut the scallions two ways. The white stem should bet cut to small disks, and the green tops can be cut at an angle so the look pretty.

Mix together sesame oil, light soy sauce, agave, salt & pepper and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok, or as I like to use, a large non-stick Dutch oven. Saute the garlic and white from scallions over medium/low heat until fragrant. Do not let these items brown.

Next add the sprouts and red pepper. Turn to medium high and toss/cook for about a minute. Finally add the sauce and the green scallion cuts. Toss to heat through  and enjoy!

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Healthy Breakfast

We already know that breakfast is important, so let's fuel our systems properly, shall we? Contrary to popular belief, it does NOT take forever to put together a fantastic breakfast at home that will easily fuel you through the morning and beyond. The key here is FRESH. If you're a gardener, it's wonderful to go out just after dawn and pick items you'll be consuming shortly. To me there's nothing better than going plant to table in minutes. Even if you don't or can't garden, you can stock your fridge with real food for real meals.

Make the effort to get into the routine of making breakfast at home instead of the motto... "I'll just grab something on the way"... Your system as well as your mind will thank you all day long :-)

Color in the morning is nearly as important as flavor and nutrition. Choose ingredients that will brighten your spirits while fueling your body for the day ahead!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp lightly salted butter or olive oil
• 2-3 large eggs - lightly beaten
• 2-3 scallions
• 4-5 leaves spinach
• 1/8 yellow onion
• 1/4 red, yellow or green bell pepper
• 2-3 baby portobello mushrooms
• 5-10 grape tomatoes cut in half

Preparation:

Start by cutting up all the ingredients to your liking. I suggest staying away from mincing so that color splashes are more pronounced. Melt the butter and add onions, peppers and mushrooms. Sautee until cooked but still firm. Add spinach and scallions and toss for a few seconds. Add the lightly beaten eggs and spread the veggies so they're distributed evenly in the eggs. Lower heat and cover pan. Cook until eggs are firm. Slide omelet onto plate, top with halved tomatoes and serve.

Have a nice day!!!

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Asian Steamed Cod & Coleslaw

This recipe shows off the versatility of cod as it is briefly marinated with Asian flavors and then steamed. Paired with my Asian Cole Slaw that was made prior, this makes for a quick and easy, delicious meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 6 oz cod filets
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar

Preparation:

Mix soy, mirin, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pat filets dry with paper towel and put in a ziplock bag. Add marinade, seal bag and marinate in refrigerator for an hour, flipping the bag every 15 minutes.

Heat your favorite steamer pot over medium heat. Once at temperature, spray a little cooking spray, add filets to pan and cover. Steam for 3-4 minutes, depending on thickness.

Serve with a generous portion of my Asian Coleslaw... YUMMM!!!

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Red Sauce & Venison with Zucchini Ribbons

As you know, I'm working hard to eliminate all the simple carbs with a high glycemic index in order to best control my diabetes on a culinary level. I make a really good venison/beef meat sauce (and now a chicken version, too) and found myself at a loss as to what to do so I could still enjoy my delicious sauce with pasta taken out of the equation. What I came up with is a dish that blew our minds the first time I made it. Carolyn and I sat here staring wide-eyed at each other wondering why we'd never thought of doing this before! LOL Set aside the notion that it's a very healthy dish... It's amazing in both flavor and presentation and is actually titled:

Red Sauce & Venison with Zucchini Ribbons

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1.25 lbs ground venison - lean beef or white meat chicken are good, too
• 1 28 oz can plum shaped tomatoes in puree
• olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, cut up
• 1/2 tsp salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste (I like about 6 twists on the grinder)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• dash of oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 4 squash/zucchini, 2 yellow and 2 green, thin enough to fit the width of a peeler blade

Preparation:

This nearly from-scratch sauce is so simple that I'm always baffled by the plethora of jar sauces at the grocery store... (shudders at the thought).

Ok serious now.....

Start by frying up the chop meat in a large skillet with a bit of olive oil until fully cooked and a nice shade of brown. Set aside. 

Add a bit of olive oil to your sauce pot and saute the chopped garlic. As the garlic JUST gets brown add in the cut up onion and saute until slightly translucent and shiny.

Place canned tomatoes in a bowl and cut into quarters or bite-size pieces... Not too small as they will cook down some in the pot.

Add tomatoes and puree to sauce pot and stir. Add in salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and dried parsley. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Finally stir in the fried chop meat. The mixture will seem very meaty and not at all liquid.... that's intentional as our base for the sauce is very different from pasta.

Ok... time to make our pasta substitute... Wash the zucchini and yellow squash and get out a peeler. A regular one will work, but I find you get better control with one that has the blade perpendicular to the handle. This is mostly for presentation as the full width ribbons will have yellow and green edges, respectively. Peel off ribbons until halfway through the vegetable, turn over and peel rest from other side. I'm not much into waste, so I typically save the leftover centers to fry up with some eggs for breakfast next day.

Heat some olive in a very large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the ribbons. Sautee with pretty much a continuous toss because they cook very quickly and you want all to be cooked evenly. Sautee just enough so there's still a little crunch and the veggies kind of stand when piled. Overcook them and you end up with a pile of mush... not good. Salt the squash to taste as you saute... go easy, though, as the sauce will bring plenty of life to the veggies. 

Plate the squash with tongs, transferring as little liquid as possible. Top with sauce and enjoy! :-)

Blessed be... and happy cooking!